Monthly Archives: June 2019

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – June 24, 2019

Therefore, Universal-Sage! When you see the keeper of this sūtra in the distance, you should rise from your seat, go to him, receive him, and respect him just as you respect me.
Therefore, Universal-Sage! When you see the keeper of this sūtra in the distance, you should rise from your seat, go to him, receive him, and respect him just as you respect me.

The Buddha gives this instruction to Universal-Sage Bodhisattva in Chapter Twenty-Eight of the Lotus Sūtra. When we open our eyes to the wonders of the world, and truly appreciate the innumerable beings who share it with us, we can feel alone and insignificant. The Buddha’s Wonderful Dharma shows us both the unimaginable expanse of this universe and the importance of our place in it. None of us can be replaced. Our purpose is neither the futile pursuit of pleasure, nor to make our isolated existence permanent. We are here to open the gate of the Buddha’s wisdom to all beings, to show all beings the joy of enlightenment, and to help them put themselves on the path to enlightenment. We do this by cultivating respect for all beings and, heeding the instructions in this verse, respecting all beings as much as we would the Buddha himself.enlightenment, and to help them put themselves on the path to enlightenment. We do this by cultivating respect for all beings and, heeding the instructions in this verse, respecting all beings as much as we would the Buddha himself.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

LS32

Day 3

Day 3 covers the first half of Chapter 2, Expedients.

Day 3 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered the inexplicable nature of the Dharma, we consider that all Buddhas use expedients.

(He said to Śāriputra again:)
I have already attained
The profound and wonderful Dharma,
The Dharma without āsravas, the inconceivable Dharma.
It is known only to me
And to the Buddhas of the worlds of the ten quarters.

Śāriputra, know this!
The Buddhas do not speak differently.
Have great power of faith
In the Dharma expounded by the Buddhas!
As a rule, the World-Honored Ones expound the true teaching
Only after a long period [of expounding expedient teachings].

(He said to the Śrāvakas
And to those who were seeking the vehicle of cause-knowers:)
I saved all living beings
From the bonds of suffering,
And caused them to attain Nirvāṇa.
I showed to them
The teaching of the Three Vehicles as an expedient
In order to save them from various attachments.

Continuing with tales of the Hoke-kyō (Lotus Sūtra) from Miraculous Stories from the Japanese Buddhist Tradition (Nihon ryōiki), we consider On Immediately Getting a Twisted Mouth by Speaking Ill of a Woman Copying the Hoke-kyō.

Nihon

On Immediately Getting a Twisted Mouth by Speaking Ill of a Woman Copying the Hoke-kyō

In the village of Hani, Nakata district, Awa province, there was a woman whose surname was Imbe no obito (Her name was Tayasuko.) In the reign of Emperor Shirakabe, she was copying the Hoke-kyō at Sonoyama-dera in Oe district when Imbe no muraji Itaya of the same district spoke ill of her, pointing out her mistakes. Immediately he was inflicted with a twisted mouth and a distorted face, which never returned to their normal state.

The Hoke-kyō says: “If you speak ill of a devotee of this scripture, none of your organs will work well, and you will be dwarfed, ugly, feeble minded, blind, deaf, and hunchbacked.” Speaking to the same effect, it also says: “If you reveal the mistakes of a devotee of this scripture, you will contract leprosy in this world, whether what you say is true or not.” Therefore, be reverent and have faith in the Hoke-kyō. Praise its power. Do not speak ill of others’ faults, for you may incur a great disaster if you do. (Page 248-249)

Miraculous Stories from the Japanese Buddhist Tradition (Nihon ryōiki)


WONS

Pure Lands and Hells

We tend to believe that the Buddha’s pure lands and hells do not exist in this world, but actually they exist only in our minds. Those who are awakened to this truth are called Buddhas, and those ignorant of it and still confused are called the unenlightened.

It is possible to be awakened to this truth only by upholding the teachings of the Lotus Sutra; practicers of the Lotus Sūtra perceive that hells and the pure land of tranquil light are identical. Even if a person practices provisional teaching for innumerable myriads of aeons against the teaching of the Lotus Sutra, he will be stuck in hell. This is not my (Nichiren’s) arbitrary opinion, but it is the doctrine of Śākyamuni Buddha, Tahō Buddha and all Buddhas in manifestation throughout the universe.

Ueno-dono Goke-ama Go-henji, A Response to the Nun, Widow of Lord Ueno, Nyonin Gosho, Letters Addressed to Female Followers, Page 46

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – June 23, 2019

Great-Power-Obtainer! What do you think of this? The Never-Despising Bodhisattva at that time was no one but myself. If I had not kept, read or recited this sūtra or expounded it to others in my previous existence, I should not have been able to attain Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi so quickly. Because I kept, read and recited this sūtra, and expounded it to others under those past Buddhas, I attained Anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi quickly.

The Buddha gives this explanation to Great-Power-Obtainer Bodhisattva in Chapter Twenty of the Lotus Sūtra. The practice of Never-Despising Bodhisattva was to approach all beings and tell them, “I respect you deeply. I do not despise you. Why? Because you will be able to practice as a Bodhisattva and become a Buddha.” When the Buddha explains that Never-Despising Bodhisattva was one of his previous lives, he equates this respect for all beings with the practice of the Wonderful Dharma.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

LS32

Day 2

Chapter 1, Introductory (Conclusion).

Day 2 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month considered the ray of light that illumined eighteen thousand Buddha-worlds in the east, we consider what Mañjuśrī saw as a result of this light.

I also saw the gods, men, dragons, yakṣas,
Gandharvas, and kiṃnaras of those worlds.
Each of them made offerings
To the Buddha by whom he was taught.

I also saw the Tathagatas of those worlds
Who had attained enlightenment by themselves.
The color of their bodies was as beautiful
And as wonderful as that of the golden mountains,
Or as that of a golden image
Put in a shrine of pure lapis lazuli.

Those World-Honored Ones explained to the great multitudes
The meaning of the profound teaching.
There were innumerable Śrāvakas
In the worlds of those Buddhas.
All those great multitudes were seen
By the light of the Buddha.

The bhikṣus were living in mountains and forests.
They made endeavors,
And observed the pure precepts
As carefully as one keeps brilliant gem·.

As many Bodhisattvas
As there are sands in the River Ganges
Performed almsgiving, patience, and other practices.
I saw all this by the light of the Buddha.

I also saw some Bodhisattvas
Who entered deep into dhyāna-concentrations,
And became tranquil and motionless in body and mind,
In order to attain unsurpassed enlightenment.

I also saw some Bodhisattvas,
Who realized the tranquil extinction of all things,
And expounded the Dharma to [the people of] their worlds
In order to attain the enlightenment of the Buddha.

Continuing with tales of the Hoke-kyō (Lotus Sūtra) from Miraculous Stories from the Japanese Buddhist Tradition (Nihon ryōiki), we consider On the Immediate Penalty of Violent Death for a Licentious Scripture Copier Who Copied the Hokke-kyō.

Nihon

On the Immediate Penalty of Violent Death for a Licentious Scripture Copier Who Copied the Hokke-kyō

Tajihi the Scripture Copier came from Tajihi district, Kawachi province. As his surname was Tajihi, he was given such a popular name. In that district there was a temple called Nonakadō.

In the sixth month in the summer of the eighth year of the boar, the second year of the Hōki era, a man made a vow to copy the Hoke-kyō and invited the copier to the temple. Female devotees gathered in the temple to add purified water to the ink for copying scriptures, and it happened that the sky suddenly clouded over and there was a shower in the afternoon. The temple was so cramped that those who sought shelter from the shower filled it, and the copier and the women were sitting in the same place. Then the scripture copier, driven by strong lust, crouched behind one of the girls, lifted her skirt, and had intercourse with her. As his penis entered her vagina, they died together embracing each other. The girl died foaming at the mouth.

Indeed, we learn that this was the punishment given by the Guardian of dharma. However intensely your body and heart may burn with the fire of lust, do not, because of the promptings of a lewd heart, commit a filthy deed. A fool indulging in lust is just like a bug jumping into a fire. Therefore, a perceptive scripture says, “A thoughtless youth easily feels lust.” Or the Nehan-gyō, expressing the same idea, says: “If you know what the five kinds of desire are, you will not find any pleasure in them. Nor will you remain a slave to them even momentarily. It is just like a dog chewing on a meatless bone, never knowing satisfaction.” (Page 245-246)

Miraculous Stories from the Japanese Buddhist Tradition (Nihon ryōiki)


WONS

The Merit of Reverse Relationship

Such chapters of the Lotus Sūtra as the “Expedients” say this sūtra should be expounded according to the capacity of people who listen while the “Never-Despising Bodhisattva” chapter insists that the sūtra should forcibly be spread among people who slander it. What is preached earlier and later in the same sūtra are as different as water and fire. However, Grand Master T’ien-t’ai interprets this in his Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra:

“People during the lifetime of the Buddha were virtuous in mind who had listened to the teaching of the Lotus Sūtra in a past existence. Therefore, the Buddha expounded the Hinayāna doctrines first in order to prepare them for enlightenment. Those at the time of Never-Despising Bodhisattva, however, had had no chance of listening to the Lotus Sūtra and were not virtuous in mind. Therefore, Never-Despising Bodhisattva preached the teaching of the Lotus Sūtra to them immediately in order to forcibly plant the seed of Buddhahood in them.”

This interpretation of T’ien-t’ai means that the Lotus Sūtra should be preached immediately to those who had a chance to hear the Lotus Sūtra in the past and are able to attain Buddhahood in this life. Of those in this category, people who slander the Lotus Sūtra upon listening to it again in this life should be prepared before-hand with provisional sūtras before being taught with the Lotus Sūtra. Those who had neither a chance to hear the Lotus teaching in the past nor the intention of putting faith in the Lotus Sūtra in this life will fall into evil realms anyway. Therefore, they should be forced to hear the Lotus Sūtra, causing them to slander the sūtra, which eventually enables them to attain Buddhahood in the future through the merit of reverse relationship.

Shō Hokke Daimoku-shō, Treastise on Chanting the Daimoku of the Lotus Sūtra, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 22

Daily Dharma

Daily Dharma – June 22, 2019

Śāriputra! Seeing that all his children had come out of the burning house safely and reached a carefree place, the rich man remembered that he had immeasurable wealth. So without partiality, he gave them each a large cart.

The Buddha tells the parable of the Burning House in Chapter Three of the Lotus Sūtra. In the story, a man tries to warn his children who are playing in a dangerous house of the harm that will come to them if they do not set aside their preoccupations and come out. The children did not listen to him, so he told them about nonexistent toys outside the house. The Buddha then compares himself promising an end to suffering to the father promising nonexistent toys, and himself leading all beings to Enlightenment to the father giving his children toys more wonderful than they could imagine.

The Daily Dharma is produced by the Lexington Nichiren Buddhist Community. To subscribe to the daily emails, visit zenzaizenzai.com

LS32

Day 1

Day 1 covers the first half of Chapter 1, Introductory

Day 1 Text with annotationsPlay MP3

Having last month met the gods and others in the gathering, we meet King Ajatasatru and the the four kinds of devotees.

King Ajatasatru, who was the son of Vaidehi, was also present with his hundreds of thousands of attendants. They each worshipped the feet of the Buddha, retired, and sat to one side.

Thereupon the four kinds of devotees, who were surrounding the World-Honored One, made offerings to him, respected him, honored him, and praised him. The World-Honored One expounded a sūtra of the Great Vehicle called the “innumerable Teachings, the Dharma for Bodhisattvas, the Dharma Upheld by the Buddhas.” Having expounded this sūtra, the Buddha sat cross-legged [facing the east], and entered into the samadhi for the purport of the innumerable teachings. His body and mind became motionless.

Thereupon the gods rained mandārava-flowers, mahā-mandārava-flowers, mañjūṣaka-flowers, and mahā-mañjūṣaka-flowers upon the Buddha and the great multitude. The world of the Buddha quaked in the six ways. The great multitude of the congregation, which included bhikṣus, bhikṣunīs, upāsakās, upāsikās, gods, dragons, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kiṃnaras, mahoragas, men, nonhuman beings, the kings of small countries, and the wheel-turning-holy-kings, were astonished. They rejoiced, joined their hands together [towards the Buddha], and looked up at him with one mind.

Continuing with tales of the Hoke-kyō (Lotus Sūtra) from Miraculous Stories from the Japanese Buddhist Tradition (Nihon ryōiki), we consider On a Man Who Made a Vow to Copy the Hoke-kyō and Who Was Saved From a Dark Pit Devoid of Sunlight Owing to the Power of His Vow.